Inventory control apparatus

ABSTRACT

APPARATUS FOR FACILITATING INVENTORY CONTROL OF RECORD ALBUMS BY ATTACHING AN &#34;IBM&#34; CARD IN A MANNER RESISTING ACCIDENTAL REMOVAL BUT ENABLING CLEAN INTENTIONAL REMOVAL. THE APPARATUS COMPRISES A PAIR OF TAPE STRIPS, ONE WITH LIGHT TACK ADHESIVE THAT FASTENS ONE END OF THE CARD TO THE ALBUM COVER, AND THE OTHER OF HIGH TACK ADHESIVE THAT PERMANENTLY FASTENS AN OPPOSITE CORNER OF THE CARD TO THE ALBUM COVER. THE IBM CARD HAS A PERFORATION ALONG THE PERMANENTLY FASTENED CORNER TO ENABLE THE CARD TO BE NEATLY TORN AWAY.

Feb. 16, 1971 7 L. 3,562,937'

INVENTORY CONTROL APPARATUS Filed Sept. 23, 1968 Hmamr NY SIQNDELINVENTOR.

flrmedfs vs United States Patent 3,562,937 INVENTORY CONTROL APPARATUSHerbert N. Sandel, Los Angeles, Calif., assignor to Rapid MerchandisingCompany, Incorporated, Minneapolis,

Minn.

Filed Sept. 23, 1968, Ser. No. 761,440 Int. Cl. G09f 3/18 US. Cl. 40-105 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Apparatus for facilitating inventorycontrol of record albums by attaching an IBM card in a manner resistingaccidental removal but enabling clean intentional removal. The apparatuscomprises a pair of tape strips, one with light tack adhesive thatfastens one end of the card to the album cover, and the other of hightack adhesive that permanently fastens an opposite corner of the card tothe album cover. The IBM card has a perforation along the permanentlyfastened corner to enable the card to be neatly torn away.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION (1) Field of the invention This inventionrelates to apparatus for use in inventory control.

(2) Description of the prior art Phonograph records are often packagedas albums containing a single record in a cardboard jacket. The jacketis protected against dust and against opening by browsing customers, bymeans of a transparent plastic cover which is meant to be discarded. Thealbums are commonly merchandised in self-service stores where they arekept in rows, one behind the other, and where customers may lift out andreplace albums until one is found which is to be purchased.

Tight inventory control is very important in popular recordmerchandising because particular record titles may have sudden but briefrises in sales, and unless they are quickly restocked many sales may belost. A good method for keeping track of record albums sold is to attachlabels to them, which are to be removed by the salesclerk at eachpurchase. The labels carry the stock number of the record title in amachine-readable code, and are gathered every week or so for automaticreordering of record stocks.

The use of machine-readable labels for inventory control has not beenhighly successful because salesclerks often do not bother to removethem. If the labels are easily removable to encourage salesclerks toremove them, they may become accidentally removed during customerbrowsing. One type of small machine-readable tag called a Kimbal tag hasbeen tried, wherein the opposite tag ends are permanently fixed to thealbum cover. These tags have perforations at opposite ends, and thesalesclerk is supposed to place a finger under the tag and lift it up totear along the perforations. However, even when clerks bother to tryremoval, they often tear the tags within the area bounded by theperforations and thereby render it difficult or impossible to read.

ICC

OBJECTS AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION One object of the present inventionis to provide means for fastening inventory control labels in a mannerthat resists accidental removal, yet which enables easier intentionalremoval without damage.

Another object is to provide a label for a record cover which encouragesmore accurate inventory control.

In accordance with the present invention, means are provided for moreeffectively fastening inventory control labels comprising two strips oftape. One strip, which has a light tack adhesive, extends along one edgeof the label. The other strip, which has a high tack adhesive, extendsacross a corner of the label on an edge opposite the first strip. Thelabel has a perforation line along the corner which is held by the hightack strip of tape. Label removal is accomplished by lifting the endwhich is held by the light tack strip, and tearing along the perforationline. The light tack adhesive prevents damage to the label or thedepositing of adhesive thereon, while the corner perforation can beeasily torn to encourage label removal and reduce the likelihood ofdamage.

In accordance with one embodiment of the invention, a label in the formof the well-known IBM card is utilized to control inventory of recordalbums. Such cards are relatively large as compared with small inventorylabels heretofore used on items of the size of record albums, and areconstructed of a high grade cardboard as opposed to ordinary paperlabels. This, plus the fact that a large number of people likely to beemployed as store clerks have become accustomed to treating IBM cardscarefully, increases the likelihood that these labels will be removed atthe time of the sale, and in a careful manner.

The IBM-type cards are fastened to the rear of the album cover, with thelength of the card extending vertically when the front of the album isin its normal position. The light tack strip extends along the loweredge of the card. This protects the bottom corners of the card fromcatching when an album is reinserted in a tightly packed row of albums.A small, high-tack tape strip permanently fastens one of the uppercorners to the album cover. This strip is positioned just outside theperforation line across the corner of the card. The cards carry a pricemarking in addition to a machine-readable inventory code. The permanentfastening of the label at one point (an upper corner) prevents acustomer from illegally switching the label from a low-priced album to ahigh-priced album, as well as preventing accidental removal.

The novel features of the invention are set forth with particularity inthe appended claims. The invention will be best understood from thefollowing description when read in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a front perspective view ofa row of record albums displayed for retail sale, the albums havinginventory control apparatus on the backs thereof;

FIG. 2 is a perspective rear view of a record album with an inventorycontrol label fastened thereto by fastening means in accordance with theinvention; and

FIG. 3 is a partial rear perspective vie-w of an album, showing themanner of removal of an inventory control label therefrom.

3 DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 shows a typical mannerof retail record merchandising wherein albums are arranged in a row onebehind the other, in a box-like stand 12. The front face 14 of eachalbum faces forward, and customers browse through the row, occasionallylifting an album partway out of the row for a better look, and slidingit back into the row. An inventory control label or card 16 with indiciain the form of punched holes that identify the album is attached to therear face 18 of each album. When a customer desires to purchase analbum, he takes it to a checkout counter, where a clerk removes the card16 after the purchase. At periodic intervals such as every week, thecards are collected to determine the quantities of each record titlethat have been sold, to aid in re-ordering.

As shown in FIG. 2, the album comprises a cardboard jacket or folder 20which holds a record, the size of the album typically being 12% inchessquare. A transparent cover 22 completely surrounds the folder toprotect the album from dust and to prevent unauthorized removal of therecord from the folder. The rear face 18 of the album typically has anarea 24 which carries a list of the contents, that is, the titles ofson-gs on the enclosed record. The inventory control card 16 is mountedbeside the content-listing area 24 to prevent its obstruction.

The inventory control card 16 is of the IBM card type which isapproximately 7% inches by 3%. inches, and of cardboard which isapproximately 7 thousandths inch thick. It contains punched holes 21which define the stock number of the particular album title to which itis attached. An upper portion 23 of the card has space for receiving aprice marking. The card is mounted with its length extending verticallywhen the album is in the normally displayed position wherein the frontface is rightside-up. It is preferable to provide a card with a lengthat least one-half the height of the album, in order that salesclerkstreat it as an important item, to be carefully removed and stored.

The card 16 is mounted on the plastic cover '22 by two strips of tape 26and 28 which lie on the card and areas of the cover immediately adjacentto it. One strip 26 extends along the bottom edge 30 of the card. Theother strip 28 extends across a corner 32 which lies on the upperportion 23 of the card, the corner 32 being one of the two corners 32and 36 which lie opposite the edge 30. The lower strip 26 has a lighttack adhesive of the pressure sensitive type on the side facing the cardand album cover. Such adhesives adhere more strongly to a smoothsurface, such as the plastic cover 22, than to a rough surface such asthe cardboard card, and form an easily separated joint with the card.The card 16 has a natural or non-slick surface so that, although it maybe relatively smooth to the touch, it is microscopically rough and onlya small area contacts the pressure sensitive adhesive. The upper strip28 has a high tack adhesive so that it forms a substantially permanentunionbetween the cover 22 and corner 32 of the card.

The card 16 has a perforation line 34 formed along the corner 32immediately within the area crossed by the upper tape strip 28. Thisline separates the main body portion of the card, which comprises theentire card except for the area at its corner 32, from the secondaryportion at the corner 32. The location of the perforation line at thisarea enables removal of most of the card even though the corner 32 ispermanently fastened in place.

When a record purchase is made, the salesclerk removes the card 16 inthe manner shown in FIG. 3. The corner 36, which is free of attachmentto the cover, is lifted and the fingers of the hand are slipped underthe card. The lower portion of the card is lifted to remove the loweredge 30 from the lower strip 26 of tape. The light adhesive character ofthe tape, particularly with regard to the cardboard card, results in itsrelease from the card merely by lifting the card. Such removal resultsin the absence of any adhesive residue on the card which might hamperits machine processing. The weak adhesion also prevents delamination ofthe card which would occur with high tack adhesive. Thus, the main bodyportion of the card is cleanly removed. With all but the comer 32 of thecard freed, the salesclerk presses a fingernail along the perforationline on the side containing the tape strip 28, and tears the card alongthis line.

The tearing of the card along the perforation line 34 is made by liftingup the rest of the card while holding down the corner 32. If theperforations are not made properly, the card has a tendency to tearoutwardly toward the portion held by the tape 32. This prevents damageto the main body portion of the card which contains thearticleidentifying indicia. If necessary, the removed card can be latercut along the perforation line.

The two strips of tape hold the card securely during typical handling bybrowsing customers. The lower edge 30 is well secured against catching,when an album is pushed down into the stack after a customer haspartially lifted it. The permanent bond provided by the upper strip 28prevents a customer from removing a card and replacing it with anotherfrom a lower priced album, since the corner portion 32 cannot be cleanlyremoved. Also, it helps to retain the card to the album even in the rareinstances when the bottom edge 30 has been accidentally removed from thecover.

The strips 26 and 28 can be easily applied to the album by merelypressing them on the card when the card is placed on the album cover.The pressure sensitive adhesive on the lower strip 26 automaticallymakes a moderately strong bond with the plastic cover 22 and an easilyreleasable bond with the cardboard card. The high tack adhesive on thecorner strip 28 automatically permanently joins the card and cover. Thefact that the two strips of tape remain on the album cover 22 after thesale is made generally is not a detriment. This is because the customerusually removes the cover from the cardboard jacket, or if he does not,the fact that there are tape strips left thereon usually does not matterto him.

Although particular embodiments of the invention have been described andillustrated herein, it is recognized that modification and variationsmay readily occur to those skilled in the art, and consequently, it isintended that the claims be interpreted to cover such modifications andequivalents.

What is claimed is:

1. Apparatus for inventory control of articles which are offered forsale comprising:

an inventory label of substantially rectangular shape disposed againstsaid article, said label having indicia thereon identifying saidarticle;

a first strip of tape with light tack adhesive, extending along a firstedge of said label and an area of said article adjacent to said firstedge;

a second strip of tape with high tack adhesive extending across a firstcorner of said label which is opposite said first edge thereof; and

means defining a separation line extending across said first cornerimmediately within the position of said second strip of tape.

2. Apparatus for inventory control of flat articles which are offeredfor sale by displaying them in stacks, one behind the other, comprising:

an inventory label disposed against a face of said article, said labelhaving indicia thereon identifying said article;

first means for attaching an upper portion of said label to saidarticle, in a permanent manner;

a strip of tape with easily releasable adhesive for attaching a lowerportion of said label to said article in a manner for ready removal, toprevent catching of said label when said article is inserted into saidstack; and

means defining a separation line between said first and References Citedsecond portions of said label. 1 ED TATES A EN 3. The apparatusdescribed in claim 2 wherein: UN T S P T TS I 1 2,167,637 8/1939 Clatf40 312 3 j fi i ggg Sal at 6 Is on Sal Po 2,546,012 3/1951 Owen 40 2 54. The apparatus described in claim 2 wherein: said indicia definingsaid article is on said lower por- FOREIGN PATENTS tion of said labeland is in a machine-readable code. 659,854 10/ 1951 Great Britain 40-3065. The apparatus described in claim 2 wherein: said first means forattaching an upper portion of said 10 ROBERT MICHELL Pnmary Examlnerlabel to said article comprises a strip of tape with W, AS, Assistant Ei high tack adhesive.

